The Badge Archive

Fulfills Step 4 of GSUSA Business Jumpstart badge requirements.

Items Needed

• Guest speaker with experience in sales or giving strong presentations
• Paper
• Pencil or pen
• Scout’s prototype or drawing from a previous activity
• Optional: whiteboard or flipchart for group brainstorming

Instructions (Total Time: 40–50 minutes)

1. Welcome the Guest Speaker (5–7 minutes)
   • Introduce the guest and share why they’re helpful in understanding pitches
   • The speaker shares their experience and explains how pitches work (selling, persuading, or explaining an idea clearly)
2. Group Brainstorm: What Makes a Pitch Work? (8–10 minutes)
   • With the speaker’s guidance, scouts list helpful things to say or do during a pitch
   • Scouts write ideas on their paper: tone of voice, confidence, showing how the idea solves a problem, etc.
3. Build a Pitch Plan (10–12 minutes)
   • Scouts work independently or in small groups
   • They fill in key pitch points:
     • What is your idea?
     • What does it do?
     • Who is it for?
     • Why is it useful, exciting, or important?
4. Practice with the Guest Speaker (10–12 minutes)
   • Scouts take turns informally saying part of their pitch out loud (Or make it a formal pitch sharing session as part of Step 5 of GSUSA Business Jumpstart)
   • The guest offers tips, encouragement, and suggestions to improve delivery
5. Reflect and Prepare (5–8 minutes)
   • Scouts write one thing they learned from the speaker
   • Optional: update their pitch with new ideas before they present formally in a future activity